Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued new sanctions that target members of Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice (Tribunal Supremo de Justicia or TSJ):
“I am pleased that the Trump Administration has finally issued sanctions targeting Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice. The humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Venezuela is an affront to all who believe in freedom, democracy, and justice, and it is appalling that the members of the Tribunal, who are tasked with protecting these values, are actually contributing to their corrosion.
Last September, I worked with Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to pass a resolution in Congress condemning the Maduro regime’s actions leading to the humanitarian, economic, and political crises in Venezuela. Since then, I have relentlessly urged the Administration to sanction these disgraceful judges. Most recently, I was proud to join more than 30 of my colleagues on a letter to President Trump, urging him to immediately deploy new sanctions against the Venezuelan state actors responsible for perpetuating violence and engaging in human rights violations.
Several months later, Venezuelans are still being denied access to food and lifesaving medicine, violence has continued to erupt across the country, and the Supreme Tribunal has responded by stripping powers from the National Assembly, and helping the Maduro regime to silence the opposition and lock up brave human rights defenders like Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma.
While I firmly believe that this decision by the Treasury Department is long overdue, I welcome this positive step in the right direction, and again urge President Trump to use all available diplomatic tools in support of democratic values and human rights in Venezuela.”
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